Praxis M-30 bottom bracket axles are 30 millimeters in diameter. A step on the left side of the aluminum axle indexes the bearing and automatically centers the crankset.

Praxis adopted MRP's right-left "Wave Tooth" profile that reportedly, keeps track of the chain as well as narrow-wide.

Another look at the left-right tooth profile of the Praxis sprocket. Praxis and SRAM chainrings are interchangeable.

Praxis Works makes a range of bottom brackets for press-fit shells designed to end creaking and assure correct alignment. The "Conversion" bottom bracket is made from two aluminum shells that thread together. Both sides press into the shell's standard bearing sockets, but that's where the similarity ends. as the halves thread together, they are pulled tightly into the sockets, so the BB can't rock and creak. Then, the drive side expands like a collet, against a special plastic ring that anchors the unit and further prevents creaking by eliminating metal-to-metal contact on the most highly stressed half of the assembly. Prices range from $45 to $75 USD.

I wonder if pioneer mountain bike maker Ross Shafer imagined that the brand he founded 30 years ago with a steel rigid hardtail would be making a carbon fiber dual-suspension fat bike?

Haro Returns

After swearing off the category a while back, Haro is back in the mountain bike business with two aluminum dual-suspension trail bikes: the Shift 53 and Shift R5 LT; and a modest line of hardtails.

Haro specs Shimano drivetrains on both bikes.

The 140mm travel Shift R5 LT has a unique swingarm pivot that sits well forward of the bottom bracket.

Top-mount chain guide is a thoughtful feature.

"Look... me and the McDonald's people got this little misunderstanding. See, they're McDonald's... I'm McDowell's. They got the Golden Arches, mine is the Golden Arcs. They got the Big Mac, I got the Big Mick. We both got two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions, but their buns have sesame seeds. My buns have no seeds." - Cleo McDowell

Microshift Gains Traction

Microshift has made the leap from a hopeful drivetrain maker to an OEM player. Among their most notable customers, Specialized specs the system on at least two models.

Give us an update on your drivetrain...

We are partnering up with QBP to share some of their marketing resources. We're hiring a US marketing manager to push our product into the consumer world and try to raise some brand awareness, and also to help with customer support in the US. We are starting to do well with the OEMs now. Specialized spec'ed us on two models this year.

Anything new in the pipe? Is 12-speed around the corner?

Not yet, because we are not sure what the hub will be like if Shimano has a 12-speed cassette. It will probably be a different hub and we are trying to go with their standards.

So, is Microshift tied into Shimano's products?

We are all Shimano compatible. When SRAM and Shimano compete against each other, they tend to release the new stuff faster and faster. We know that Shimano makes a really good quality product. When they build a new product, it's not just 100 percent A lot of times, they ensure their product is 120 percent before they release it. SRAM's products, they want to move faster, but there are a lot of times when, like 12 speed, some things are not functioning well perfectly. And, we know that, even though SRAM moves faster, when Shimano releases their 12 speed, that a lot of the industry will move back to Shimano.

Microshift chose to be Shimano compatible because they appreciate the Japanese giant's methodical testing, and the conservative approach Shimano takes when releasing new technology.

Microshift under-bar levers operate like first-gen Shimano - with a thumb paddle for downshifts and a finger trigger for up-shifting. The feel is very positive.

Everyone Loves Cutaways

SRAM's revised bleed ports and how they feed into four-piston calipers.

RockShox Metric shock internals.

RockShox Reverb seatposts: new style top, old style bottom.

A Different Bike Lock

TiGr Mini+ bike fits on a water bottle mount and its lightweight titanium alloy band is tough to cut.

The band's ends fit into a rotary lock. TiGr Mini+ is designed to fit around posts and similar objects.

G-Form

G-Form debuted a female-specific protection range designed to be concealed under shorts and a jersey. the Pro Jersey, shown has RPT energy absorbing pads and is available in sizes from X-small, through X-large.

Female-specific patterns and molded pads keep the jersey snug and moving freely while on the bike. G-Form also has matching knee and elbow pads.

Evoc's Explorer Pro 261 is intended for big rides and professional guides - riders who need a stable pack to carry bulky items on technical back country trails.

The Explorer Pro has a rain shield tucked into the bottom pocket with "wings" that slide over and protect the belt's zip-pouches.

wide, ventilated shoulder straps are contoured for comfort. The buckle is also a whistle.

Pads separate the pack from the mesh back to maintain contact while allowing for maximum circulation.

The wide, ventilated waistband is designed to contour and move with your body.

Bern Helmet

If you like clean and simple, Bern's new FL1 XC MIPS protected helmet is as good as it gets. The shell is in-molded and the visor is removable.

At the rear, a raised section makes room for the ratcheting tension device and allows freedom of motion for your head at high angles. Small, medium and large, and 320 grams.

Wolf Tooth Components

Lose an axle? Need a different one? Wolf Tooth makes bolt-on styles for almost every application from XC racing to fat bike.

Wolf Tooth is most known for their array of CNC-machined cassette cogs, and dropper post and shifting conversions - so these enduro-inspired "wrap anything handy to your frame" straps came as a surprise.

I was hugely anti pressfit, but the BB in my Demo has been pretty good and outlasted the threaded RF BB on my other bike.
Still not convinced it's the right way to do it, but it's not as bad as I thought.

Just trying to learn here. Where do most people run into creaking issues, is it plastic or metal cups and with carbon or aluminum frames? I heard it's usually with metal cups. Have a carbon frame with plastic cups for a few years now. Have had a few bottom brackets throughout the years, all plastic cups, and never ever had any creaking. Sucks so many have had issues.

@cunning-linguist: I may have missed the pre-A-headset days of mountainbiking, but the only threaded headsets I know (from regular commuter bikes) are the ones with an externally threaded steerer (instead of internally like the current starnut). The headset cups were still pressed into the frame or, with the cheaper frames, integrated into the frame. I don't know of any headset that threads into the headtube. Could anyone point me to a picture of one that does?

@cunning-linguist: Had a press fit bottom bracket, basically was looking for the closest frame to transfer all my parts, ended up with a similar frame with a threaded bottom bracket that I transferred all my parts. The threaded bottom bracket works much better.

@SCCC120: The problem is with Carbon frames as they still have to press integrate a metal support for the threaded BB.

I have PF92 on my carbon and threaded on my metal bikes. I have had a problematic PF in the past which thankfully the manufacturer stood behind. I am not convinced about threaded being better. If anything the extra support provided by the PF92 seems more logical because the bearings are inside the frame and fully supported whereas a threaded 73 sits outside and the rider loads the external bearing against the frame.

As with most bike stiff I think its really about the quality of the kit and in this case the PF.

The big question seems to be why are certain manufacturers using threaded on carbon frames? Santa Cruz etc

I just need to be able to remove the bearings for cleaning without having to replace it. The moondust around here gets into everything, and pretty quickly. It is great to be able to bull the BB and clean it thoroughly without needing to replace it.

@vinay - You've got it right, there are no threaded headset cups (that I'm aware of.) The complaint (from Canfield and others) is that headset cups that thread into the head tube like a threaded bottom bracket would be a superior design if someone made it, but nobody does. The old-timey quill stem you're describing, which is still used on cheaper bikes, still relies on pressed in bearing cups.

@gtill9000: threaded H'set cups? LOLthe whole reason threaded H'sets dissapeared was the tooling for cutting a thread on to steerer tubes an H'set parts was super awkward, time consuming in production and expensive, also there needs to be extra material to cut the thread into.. so extra wieght. the threadless head set design is way better stronger lighter and cheaper for industry and consumer,

@nojzilla: i dont believe you read that right. Threading in the hs tube to allow the cups tp thread in, then steerer routes through, if im not mistaken. The article in question was advocating a change to a new possibly superior design, not to reembrace a 30 year old design. I think.

@nojzilla: Pressfit works in BMX because their frames are steel, and steel has enough flex to basically hold the bearings in tight. Try that with a stiffer material like aluminium or carbon and if the tolerances aren't perfect then you will get creaking. That being said, creaky PF BBs aren't nearly as big of an issue nowadays as they were even 5 years ago.

Rarely is it the headset cups that were pressed into the frame that are the source of creaking, that happens from a lack of grease around the headset bearings, and the bearings themselves wearing out.

Pressed in interfaces on bikes work well because tolerances have gotten tighter. There's no reason to complain about these interfaces anymore.

Indeed. Until they solve it, I can say my BBInfinite has been great. One piece construction and a little pricey but I even talked to one of the inventors, Gary, on the phone for half an hour when I had questions. The noise during install will scare the crap out of you on a carbon frame but all good and no more creaks!

@nojzilla - VwHarmann read what I was saying right. I was referring to the headset cups pressing into the head tube. You're referring to the rest of the headset which used to screw on the the threaded portion of the steerer tube. And yes, that old system sucked and was greatly improved when AheadSet came out. You're right in that in order to have thread-in headsets, you'd need to tap threads into the head tube, which is probably why nobody has come up with that sort of system.

@gtill9000: Do you remember having 32-36mm flat spanners for threaded H'sets? so for example take a 1.5 inch ZS headset cup, an thread it... how big is that spanner gonna have to be? remember this cup is gonna end up about 60mm wide to have enough material to cut a thread into an keep it strong. now how big is the head tube gonna have to be to again.. except a thread being cut into it an keep it strongso your'e gonna end up with a head tube with an external dia of something like 80-90mm............ extra long too for all this thread (say goodbye to ZS head sets) all that extra material?? your'e looking about an extra 1/4 pound to the weight of a bike, extra cost for the tooling in the factory, extra cost to the end consumer and the cost of extra huge spanners.

To use say a standard shimano external BB as a BB, headset (with angular contact bearings) and as a main pivot bearing on a full sus. £20 replacements, available everywhere, no differing standards, one tool, fit n forget is my idea. Still the same ahead set design.

@nojzilla: the principle is right yes, now obviously like I'd mentioned you'd need to change the bearings, to allow better movement and also allowing you to adapt the aperture at the same time. Just the threaded cup idea is way better than flared head tubes and creaky press fit headsets of old.

@nojzilla: except that you didn't. The guy whose post you are referring to acknowledged as much. Not here to argue bud, just like talking tech. Try listening every now and then as opposed to just spouting off, you might come across a new idea that way instead of hearing threaded and headset and assuming thateans threaded steerer. Nice try bud.

Why? Press fit was never about improving the bike it was about reducing manufacturing costs. Everything else anyone told you about it was hype to sell it. Fact is if its creaking its moving and if its moving it ain't stiffer and its annoying as hell.

@VwHarman: I was using the reasonsWhy threaded head setsAre way inferior to threadless head setsAs an exampleTo whyThreaded head set cupsWould beAf*cking stupidIdeaCan I make it any simplerFor you to understand?

1. Try to get your facts straight.2. Realize i probably dont care nearly as much as you seem to about debating something that currently is irrelevant regardless of who is making the more salient points.3. Go for a pedal. Your demeanor reminds me of myself when i havent pedalled for a bit. Or if i need a Snickers bar.

Praxis, 30mm axle, what for?! Only slightly heavier than 24 but stiffer regular marketing bollocks? Some companies like Praxis, Race Face, Hope learned NOTHING from the case of ISIS spindle. No matter what you do, those bearing balls get smaller, which means they wear out quicker, sometimes fail completely during a ride. Put that into BB92 shell and you are virtually screwed, you'll be replacing bearings anywhere between 3months and a year, which means your frame will not make it to 5 years old. How many snapped 24mm crank axles have you seen VS bearings getting replaced all too frequently? Ugh... it's fkng 2017. Yes I am annoyed.

@IllestT: I don't care. They could "invent and innovate" 25mm. It's just so hard for some humans to realize: some things stop evolving. Like a fricking hammer. I tried other stuff and I'm back at SLX and I will buy another one soon. The only thing I would like to see is a steel insert at the pedal body. Look! A business opportunity for Saint Endu... excuse me. that won't sell well to Pinkbikers. Saint Trail it shall be. SLX with steel insert - so not Enduro.

Don't forget that with the 24mm Shimano system a Deore or SLX BB is so cheap its virtually a disposable part! $45 to $75 USD is frankly ridiculous!And when the Hope/whatever bearing muppets pipe up "mine lasts 3 years"... well I can afford to put in a new Deore BB every other weekend and it still cost me less... Your Hope/whatever isn't going to be box fresh for the entire 3 years is it!Shimano do it right. Leave them to it!

I don't know either, but the hope bb is huge compared to that crappy race face cinch bb. At least the threaded version. It is around 4 mm more in diameter, so I think they actually use appropriate bearings. You can also easily change the bearings so replacing is rather affordable.

Shorter cranks favor higher cadences for seated pedalling. Longer cranks favor climbing in difficult terrain due to allowing for better pedal timing and power modulation. Nobody can climb in steep, difficult terrain for hours... No bigger group of people can agree on a particular crank arm length due to genetics and trained neuromuscular structure. It's freaking physics and biomechanics... but an idea that I will just get shorter crank arms to avoid pedal strikes and keep spinning while sitting on my arse is plain stupid. It all depends on your goals and terrain you are riding in. If I lived in Polish mountains I would totally get 170 cranks, since technical climbs are extremely rare and 175 cranks are pain in the arse for longer grind. But where I live now, climbs are short, steep and difficult, I need that leverage to make as few pedal strokes as possible.

@jclnv: as long as your Sram cranks have replaceable spider you are covered for boost. It's just a matter of buying Boost specific chainring or spider. Think what would happen if those a*sholes created 75mm BB shells and BB97 pressfits... I don't usually call bike makers a*sholes, but hey Trek and SRAM you are a*sholes for Boost.

@WAKIdesigns@jclnv the only reason to worry about boosting your crank is if you have chain interference with a plus sized tire... otherwise running a non-boost crank with a boost rear and sram 1x can many times run a better chainline so that back pedalling wont derail your chain in the 42 or 36...

@Uuno: I'm trying to find a replacement crank for my son's 24" fat bike. It came stock with a "custom" 160mm crankset, steel, square tapered. The crankset alone weighs as much as his little 8-year old body. Trying to replace it, the nearest I can find is a Sram GX-Eagle 165mm. I know he will grow into and through the bike, hopefully be as tall as (177cm) dad or taller, but for now, and for the shorter crowd, yes, you're right!Someone should cater to the big and small crowd out there.

@mgolder: Durability of outboard Hope Bearings is comparable to Shimano. The difference is you can regrease Hope so you don't need to replace it as often. If you can make them outlive 3 XT/XTR outboard bearing sets, great. The issue with 30mm axle appears when you have pressfit. Then you go through 2 hope bearing sets 60£ each per year. 30mm axle is bollocks. And replacing ANY set of bearings in Hope cranks takes 30 minutes instead of 5 with Shimano. There is no defending of Hope cranks other than wanting to buy a UK made product, however having experience with them, I'd take Middleburn instead, if they weren't closed. Whenever I deal with a Hope product I have this strange impression it's made by same folks who made Matilda tanks.

@WAKIdesigns: I ended up getting the GX-Eagle with a 24mm spindle. The bike, being a youth bike, has threaded BB, but I have read lots about the problems with 30mm bearings in PF set-ups. I have also converted my full suspension xc bike to 24mm.

My Truvativ Descendant cranks look very weak for the purpose, but I know nothing about metalergy. Always liked Shimano. My bike is quite a hodgepodge, but I'm more than happy with it because I definitely don't ride up to it's expectations.

i dunno. downvote me but, oneupcomponents and wolftooth making these quirky little tools/ patch kit storage units seems like a money grab. You already got a burger and fries. might as well get an xl soda and make it a combo. Thet are cheap to make, and hardly innovative, but like anodized bottle openers, people will buy em.

@JamesR2026: How do you like the logo'd bar end plugs they make? the Pogies? logo'd zippered pulls? It's a bit much. Initial products are awesome and solved actual issues. The f*ck are they doing now with tool wraps? Stay in your lane. We like who you were. Don't add skus for no reason.

People need to get with the program and research bbinfinite bottom brackets. I've had 2 and they have been excellent through the British winters and summers. It's a fundamentally simple solution but underpinned by very, very good manufacturing. I'm not associated to them, just a happy customer.
Your bb woes will be forgotten with one of these...

great info. just read the '30mm madness' blog and it is insanely true. came true that I burned a RF PF92 30mm BB within a month. After that, the ND crankarm cracked near the spindle(thanks Next SL). Revert back to shimano XT cranks and bb and swear by 24mm.

"We know that Shimano makes a really good quality product. When they build a new product, it's not just 100 percent A lot of times, they ensure their product is 120 percent before they release it. SRAM's products, they want to move faster, but there are a lot of times when, like 12 speed, some things are not functioning well perfectly. And, we know that, even though SRAM moves faster, when Shimano releases their 12 speed, that a lot of the industry will move back to Shimano."

Whoa. Thought for sure i'd see a bloodbath in the comment section over this one. Has this truth finally been accepted by the masses?

@BeardlessMarinRider: Honest? It would be honest to say that shimano makes a ton of products with serioys flaws. But cause they make so much, that it's hard for some people to understand. Leaking brakes and siezed derailleur clutches FTW

@TheRaven: dude nearly every second used rear derailleur (Xt, Slx, Xtr...) from last 3-4 years, doesn't shift when clutch is "on". You can lubricate clutch bearing assembly put new chains cables anything ... won't work or work poorly.

@b-wicked: See replies above mine. The only time I ever encountered what I thought might actually be an issue with a Shimano clutch, it turned out to be the chainring. Shimano stuff is so good that when fellow riders ask for advice from me on their drivetrain, I tell them "it's not the derailleur". I get alot of "yeah, but I just replaced my chain, cassette, chainring, and guide, and checked the clutch...everything else is brand new...", but I still tell them "it's not the derailleur", and for 18 years i've been right every time.

@deeeight: most of client whos bikes I service doesn't even know that there is clutch or that you can adjust it. Half of them just come with " my gears don't work" problem, or other half are people who ride with clutch in.off position... I had Zee on bike and when new it was fine but I sold that bike to a friend so we will see how much time it takes...

@TheRaven: a lot of time, it's true, but strangly i get a lot of problems last years. With systems getting more complicated with tighter tolerances, things got to fragile and sensitive, especially with Japanese stuff. And no I'm not advocating for Sram, yes I use their stuff on my fleet mainly, 3 pairs of Guides is one heck a pain in the ass, knock on wood I just got RCS's repaired and going strong since. What's up with the chain ring, there was front derailleur on it ?

Haro's had the Shift line up since MY16. The singe pivot and Horst link versions use the bulk of the same front triangle but shock placement changes between the Horst Link short travel and LT versions. I wonder how the change in arc diameter the chainstay cuts will affect the kinematics. Welds aside, the bikes don't look terrible and the spec is on point for the cash, along the lines of the Hawk Hill from Marin. If they'd get it together on the geometry front they could be respectable rides.

I hate locking bikes anywhere, because it's like, "I don't want my bike stolen, but anyone with bolt cutters can have it". You're basically just weeding out idiots. Additionally I hate the type of person that would steal a bike, because they're the reason we all have to act so stupid. It's like a giant idiot circle created due to bike theft.

@sewer-rat you clearly do not understand how to properly lock up a bicycle then...either you're whole bike should have been stolen or your front wheel only. having everything but your front wheel stolen is on you.

If your using D locks get some of the bars that fill in the gap left by the solid D. They have an inherent flaw and any D lock can be broken in seconds....
Not gonna say how on here. But, the best way to lock your bike is to wrap a solid heavy chain as tightly as possible with as many locks as possible. Don't leave any space between the bike, the chain and what your looking king it to....

So the thief didn't need to defeat the lock.... he just undid your front axle? You only locked a removable part of your bike to the post and somehow that's a design flaw in D-locks?? Sorry your shit got stolen, but learn to lock a bike correctly...

D-lock goes through the frame at minimum, or frame and a wheel ideally (frame and front wheel is usually easy for road bikes). If you carry additional cables/chains, those go through the other wheel. Or you can just carry a bunch of heavy chain and a padlock, that works too.

No lock is invulnerable, but a well-secured bike won't be worth a thief's time. I've gotten drunk and left my bike locked overnight, and come back in the morning to find that a thief tampered with it, but ultimately decided it wasn't worth the effort. I have had a saddle stolen though.... not a fun ride home.